


Prized Items

by LadyKes



Series: POV [11]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Triwizard Tournament
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-23
Updated: 2017-04-23
Packaged: 2018-10-23 04:03:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10711803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyKes/pseuds/LadyKes
Summary: Viktor's perspective of the Second Task.





	Prized Items

It was the morning of the second task, and Viktor Krum was not feeling precisely cheerful. He’d successfully figured out his egg without drop-kicking it into the lake, although he thought it was unfair that he had to decipher a clue that was not only in English, but _sung_ English. He also had a sneaking suspicion as to what his “sorely missed” item was going to be. He hadn’t seen Hermione since dinner the previous night and she usually found some way to at least see him during the evenings, whether in the library or just “happening” to bump into each other in the corridors. Professor McGonagall was a surprisingly helpful accomplice in his quest to find her, often going so far as to say, “Mister Krum, you might find what you are seeking in the Charms corridor” in an undertone as he passed her. Who knew the starched-looking professor had a romantic streak as wide as the Danube?

It was true that he would sorely miss Hermione if he was unable to get her back, and the thought of her being stuck at the bottom of the lake forever made shivers run down his spine. Since the Yule Ball, they’d spent at least one evening a week together, and it seemed that they were “steady” as Hermione once jokingly said, with a roll of her eyes at the phrase. He wasn’t sure what that meant and Hermione hadn’t been able to explain it in a way that made very much sense, but it seemed to be a good thing.

So, here he was, standing on the dock, about to jump in, hoping he could get to Hermione and save her in the hour he had been allotted. He focused his mind, much as he did before a Quidditch game, and concentrated on his plan. He’d decided on a partial transfiguration rather than gillyweed or other charms, since this would have the advantage of not only allowing himself to breathe underwater but also give him some defensive abilities. The bell sounded and he dove in, using his wand to transfigure his head and shoulders into the form of a shark before swimming towards the deepest parts of the lake. 

There were some disadvantages to being a shark, he soon discovered. For one thing, he was distracted by the fish around him. They’d taste very good, his shark brain said. His human brain usually overruled that idea, but maybe if he’d gotten Hermione and had a bit of extra time before his hour was up he’d go hunting. 

He defeated the grindylows easily. Apparently half-human half-shark creatures made them a bit nervous, so they didn’t put up too much of a fight. The merpeople were a bit more stubborn, but he defeated them as well and reached the statue where Hermione was bound. She had clearly been put into a magical stasis, and he Diffindo’ed the ropes holding her before binding her to his back. He knew he couldn’t swim while carrying her, although perhaps he’d not tell her he’d carried her like a parcel. 

He saw Potter and Diggory heading in to get their prizes, but didn’t see Delacour. Perhaps she’d been delayed. No matter, he needed to get to the surface. He swam as quickly as possible and soon saw the wavering light of the surface. When he was about two meters below, he Diffindo’ed Hermione from his back and ended the enchantment turning his head into a shark. He didn’t want to scare her, after all. He then swam up to the surface, gasping as he reached air, holding Hermione loosely. Hermione had woken as soon as her head breached the water, and she was now looking at him with no small measure of confusion and fear.

“Viktor? What happened? I’m all wet,” she said, before it appeared to dawn on her. “Oh, I was your most prized item, wasn’t I?” she added, with a shy smile and a hint of a blush.

“Yes,” he responded, cutting himself off before he added anything else. He didn’t want to startle her, and they hadn’t quite reached the declarations stage. He was also still out of breath from swimming.

He guided her to the shore and they were immediately surrounded by people from both Hogwarts and Durmstrang alike. In the background he saw his fan club slowly drifting away. He grinned, deciding that apparently not even they were stupid enough to misread the fact that Hermione had been his item rather than one of them. Karkaroff hovered nearby, but he only had eyes for the rather wet but still wonderful young woman in front of him. He guided her to a quiet spot on the sand and placed a towel around her shoulders before he said, a bit anxiously perhaps, “You are alright? Not hurt?” 

“I’m fine. A bit startled that the last thing I remember was going to Dumbledore’s office and talking to him about crumpets, though,” she said with a wry smile.

He noticed there was a bug in her hair, but it didn’t look like a water bug. How did that get there? No matter, he’d just remove it. He reached across and gently pulled the creature out of her hair while it wiggled and almost growled at him. 

Karkaroff chose that moment to say, “Viktor, I vould like to talk to you about task. Ve must find out your score, make sure it is fair,” but Viktor brushed him aside and went back to looking at Hermione. Maybe it took the magical stasis of someone you cared about to really make you realize how much you cared. 

“Hermione, I vas vondering. Vould you come visit me in Bulgaria this summer? I vould like to show you my country and my people,” he said, almost before he realized he was saying it. He meant it, of course, but he hadn’t intended to ask at this precise moment.

Hermione looked a bit startled by his question and didn’t say anything for a few moments. When she did speak, it was rather haltingly, “Viktor…I don’t know…I mean, I have to think about it. And I need to ask my parents. I’m not old enough to decide things like that by myself.”

Viktor cringed mentally. He had put his foot in it again, asking for more than she could give. He should have known. He hastily said, “Ah, yes, of course. I should not haff asked you. I apologize.”

“No, no,” she said quickly, “It’s not that. I just, well, I need to think about it. It would be fun, I’m sure it would.” And here she smiled up at him with a look that always made him want to tell her everything in his head and his heart (but he never did, partially because he didn’t know the English words to do so). 

“Hermione,” he started, but spoke hesitantly to be sure he said the right words in the right way, “I haff not felt this vay about a girl. I do not invite girls to see my country. I vant you to know that.”

She put her hand on his cheek before saying, “I know that, Viktor. And I’m not turning you down. I’m just saying I need to think about it.”

He still had the feeling that she had actually turned him down but hadn’t wanted to say so, and was feeling rather awkward about it when another head popped above the water, this one with wet black hair plastered to it and two people in tow. Hermione gasped and immediately jumped up and ran to the shore, waiting with the other Hogwarts students to see how Harry was and help him in any way they could. 

Viktor watched her go, thinking that he supposed he shouldn’t be unhappy that she had run away from him to tend to Harry. He’d been her friend for far longer than Viktor had even known Hermione had existed. Still, it hurt to watch her run without a backward glance.

Just then, though, something happened that cheered him up. Hermione did look back from around the crowd clustered near Harry, and she unmistakably looked at him. Her lips moved and suddenly on the sand next to him, there was a small blue heart. He picked it up and put it in his pocket before leaving and finding Karkaroff to see what his Headmaster had in store for him now. Harry Potter may have Hermione’s attention right now, but Viktor had her heart.


End file.
